Crate handling implement



E. SULDON 2,789,000

CRATE HANDLING IMPLEMENT A ril 16, 1957 Filed May 6, 1954 United StatesPatent'O CRATE HANDLING IMPLEMENT Edwin Snldon, Corpus Christi, Tex.

Application May 6, 1954, Serial No. 427,946 4 Claims. (Cl. 294-) Thepresent invention relates to manually usa'ble implements and deviceswhich are especially useful in assisting a user thereof in pushing,pulling and otherwise aiding in handling unwieldy and heavy cratedloads, and has more specific reference to what may be briefly describedas 'a readily attachable and detachable crate handler There has longexisted a need for improved ways and means capable of meeting therequirements undertaken in moving and shifting heavy crated commodities.This is especially true when handling large crates of glass. As a matterof fact, it is indeed a task for workmen to laboriously and dangerouslymove a large crate of glass around on rollers from place to place. Thetrouble is that no provisions are made on the conventional crate slatsor boards which make it possible to handily push, pull and otherwisemaneuver the crate. In these circumstances, it is common practice to useten and sometimes twelve men on a single heavily packed crate. Usually,one will find two men at each end of the crate and four men on eachside. Lacking proper gripping facilities, the principal burdens areimposed on the end men, for the ones on the side can hardly do much morethan perform a reliable balancing job. Under these circumstances, it isevident that the provision of handles or hand grips available to allpersons would permit easy handling of the load and make it possible toreduce the number of men required to about six, for the average job.

Because the slats :are not usually suitable to accommodate handles, aspecial handle construction is, therefore, required. It is the object ofthe invention to provide a handle which is simple, practicable, readilyattachable and detachable and which, when applied, makes it possible toafford the user reliable pushing and pulling facilities with a saving intime, money, effort and, what is more important, safeguarding the menwho are called upon to handle the load moving task.

Briefly, a preferred embodiment of the invention has to do with atemporarily attachable handle which is applicable to place of vantage onthe exterior of the boards or slats of an unwieldy and heavily loadedcrate, the same being characterized by 'a crate pushing and pullingimplement comprising a U-shaped handle embodying a centrally disposedgrip adapted to be grasped by the users hand, said grip having lateralarms and said arms having means for retentive connection with customaryspaced apart wooden slats in said crate.

Further, novelty is predicated upon the structure revealed wherein thestated means embodies an anchoring prong which is adapted to be drivenor otherwise wedged into and thus chocked and retained in a reliablehandle anchoring position.

In carrying out a specific embodiment of the invention, the handleconstruction is not only U-shaped with limbs, the latter are providedwith claw-like heads with spurs to become embedded in the slats and withone arm hav- 2,789,000 Patented Apr. 16, 1057 handle constructed inaccordance with the principles of the present invention and showing theconstruction and use thereof;-

Figure 2 is a view essentially in section, bringing out the details ofconstruction; and

Figure 3 is a view in elevation on a small scale, based on Figure l andshowing one of the arms in its detached position, the position assumedthereby just prior to its being swung to the functioning positiondepicted in Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawings with reference numerals and lead lines, itwill be seen that the implement or handle, as an over-all device, isgenerally U-shaped. Sometimes these types of handles are merely referredto as hand grips. In the instant case, it is preferred that the portionthat is grasped by the hand be specifically referred to as the handgrip. Starting, then, with the overall U-shaped construction, theintermediate portion is a hand grip, and this is preferably an elongatecylindrical or equivalent solid member which is denoted by the numeral 4in Figure 2. The exterior surface is preferably encased in a rubbersleeve providing a suitably cushioned and anti-slipping grip 6. Thus,the numeral 4 .is the complete hand grip, while 6 denotes the sleevepart which is commonly referred to in the trade as a rubber orequivalent grip. In any event, the member 4 is provided at one end withan axial screw threaded socket 8 into which the screw threaded part 10of the lateral shank 12 is screwed and fixedly anchored by a stud or thelike, as at 14. The portion 16 is referred to as an arm. This arm istherefore lateral to the hand grip and is fixed. It may be integratedwith the member 8 in some other manner, if desired. In any event, thearm 16 has anchoring means, broadly, at the outer end. Morespecifically, this comprises a lateral abutment 18 having a flat surface20 to bear against the slat or board 22 of the packing crate. The outerend of the abutment has a segmental head which has sometimes beenreferred to as claw-like. This head is denoted at 24 and has an impactsurface 26 which may be struck with a hammer or the like, if desired.The detents thereon are in the form of spurs 28, the latter beingembedded in the wood surface of the crate slat. Coplanar with theabutment surface 20 and lateral to the arm 16 is an extension which ishere referred to as an anchoring prong 30, and this parallels the handgrip and has a beveled end 32 defining a pointed probing tip 34. As bestshown in Figure 1, this anchoring prong is adapted to be forced by handthrough the restricted crack or opening 36 brought out in Figure l andexisting between the slats 22 and 38. By pressing and forcing theanchoring prong into place, the claw-like head 24 may be also anchored,this by forcing the spurs into the wood, as brought out in the drawings.There is a similar axial screw threaded socket 40 in the other end ofthe hand grip member 4, and this accommodates the screw threaded endportion 42 of the shank 44 of the other or remaining arm 46. The latteris supposed to oppose the arm 16 in general parallelism. It terminatesin a solid sector-shaped or equivalent anchoring head 48 also ofclaw-like form and having anchoring spurs 50.

In the construction revealed, it will be clear that the arm 16 is fixedin right angular relationship to the axis of the hand grip, which handgrip, incidentally, may be identified in the unitary sense by thenumeral 5. By having the arm 46 pivotally mounted, it may be swung to anout-of-the-way position, as shown in dotted lines in Figure l and fulllines in Figure 3. This permits one to force or otherwise drive (by handor hammer) the anchoring: prong 36 through the crack and between the twoslats 22 and 38 using the tension of the buckled slat 38 to impose thenecessary retentive pressures on the prong, abutment and head 24. Inmany instances, it will be possible to angle the anchoring prong intoplace purely by hand and Without hammering it in. in other instances,the crack may be so restricted that it will be necessary to resort todriving, under which circumstances, the head and. its surface 25 becomesa satisfactory impacting member. Once thearm 16 is thus attached, the

'complemental arm id is swung around and into place,

and the spurs 59 are embedded, thus utilizing the two complemental headsin conjunction with the anchoring prong and thus in aining the over-allhandle in ternporarily attached pcsdon. This sort of a handle is idealto enable a user to push, pull, tug and otherwise handle the load withthe handle attached at such elevation as needed, all in a reasonablyobviou and easy-to-appreci'ate manner. Under ordinary circumstances,after the prong has been started in the crack, it can be pushed all theway in by grasping the arm and giving it a quick push or by hitting withthe heel of the open palm. The

cross-pieces or horizontal boards on a crate are hardly ever closeenough to prevent the slats from having enough give to permit the prongto be inserted in the crack by forcing with the hand.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will bereadily understood and further explanation is believed to beunnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invcntion to the exact construction shown and described, andaccordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resortedto, falling within the scope of the appended claims. 7

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. For temporary attachment to a place of vantage on the exterior of aheavy and unwieldy crate, a heavy duty crate pushing and pullingimplement comprising a substantially U-shaped handle embodying acentrally disposed suitably cushioned hand grip and complemental lateralspaced parallel arms, one of said arms being fixed to the adjacentcooperating end of the hand grip, the other arm having one end coaxialwith and pivotally attached to the cooperating end of the hand grip sothat said arm may swing in a plane at right angles to the axis of saidhand grip, both of said arms having spaced parallel heads attachedthereto, and each head having pointed spurs adapted to be embedded inthe Wooden slats of the crate.

2. For temporary attachment to a place of vantage on the exterior of aheavy and unwieldy crate, a crate pushing and pulling implementcomprising a substantially iii) U-shaped' handle embodying a centrallydisposed hand grip and complemental arms, one of said arms beingfixed tothe adjacent end of the hand grip, the other arm having one end coaxialwith and pivotally attached to the cooperating end of the hand grip sothat said arm may swing in a plane at right angles to the axis of saidhand grip, both of said arms having heads attached thereto, and eachhead having pointed spurs adapted to be embedded in the slats of the.crate, the first named arm having a tapered wedge-shaped anchor, saidanchor being lateral to the arm and being adapted to be pressed througha restricted crack and thus bound between cooperating slats of thecrate.

3. A readily applicable and removable crate handle comprising a U-shapedhandle construction embodying a centrally disposed rigid cushioned handgrip, a rigid arm at one end of the hand grip and lateral thereto andprovided at its crate engaging end with a lateral abutment terminatingin a head, said head being laterally olfset relative to the axis of saidarm and having spurs to embed in the coasting surface of a wooden slat,and there being an anchoring prong integral with said arm and in generalaxial alignment with said abutment, said prong being substantiallyparallel to the hand grip, and a second arm having one end coaxial withand pivotally attached to the opposite end of said hand grip andprovided at its opposite end with a head, said head having spurs.

4. A readily applicable and removable crate handling implementcomprising, a U-shaped handle construction embodying a centrallydisposed rigid cushioned hand-grip having an axial screw-threaded socketin one end thereof, a first laterally disposed arm provided at one endwith a prong-equipped anchoring head and provided at its opposite endwith a screw-threaded portion which is lateral to the arm and isthreaded for attachment and intended optional rotation in saidscrew-threaded socket so that said arm is capable of being swung in anorbital path which is at right angles to the axis of said hand-grip, asecond complemental arm lateral to the handgrip and parallel to thefirst named arm and rigidly connected with the other end of saidhand-grip and provided at its work engaging end with a lateral abutmenthaving a head at one end, said head having spurs adapted-to embedthemselves in a coacting surface of a wooden slat in the stated crate,and there being an anchoring prong integral with said last named arm andin general axial alignment with said abutment, said prong beingsubstantially parallel to the hand-grip and being tapered and providing.a wedge-shaped anchor which is adapted to be pressed through arestricted crack and thus bound and anchored between cooperating slatsin the stated crate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

